Four persons, including an ASHA worker, tested positive for SARS-CoV-2 and three recovered from the illness in the district on Sunday.
A 54-year-old ASHA worker, who hails from Kulathummal in Kattakada, is among those who were diagnosed with the infection. Working under the Amachal primary health centre, she was part of the rapid action force in the Kattakada grama panchayat that works to contain the pandemic. She visited houses of people who came from outside the State. While none of them have tested positive for the infection yet, the authorities are yet to identify the source of infection. She has participated in Kudumbashree meetings and engaged in activities under the MGNREGS.
Two persons who came from abroad also tested positive. A 51-year-old woman, who hails from Varkala, tested positive two weeks after she returned from Dubai along with her husband on May 30.
Sentinel surveillance
While she had tested positive for COVID-19 in the UAE, she was permitted to travel after her subsequent test returned negative. The duo were quarantined at a hotel in Kovalam for seven days and they went home after seven days. The woman’s sample was taken as part of sentinel surveillance. Her husband’s result is awaited.
A 37-year-old man from Venjaramoodu, who had returned from Kuwait on May 26, also tested positive. He had been accommodated in a camp in Kuwait for 37 days after his visa expired.
The fourth patient is a 39-year-old Mulloor native who came from Karnataka on a train on June 6.
The handicraft worker is asymptomatic and his swab was taken as part of the sentinel surveillance.